Seventeen missing in cruise ship disaster

Italian officials have lowered the number of people still unaccounted for in the grounding of a cruise ship off Tuscany.

Tuscany’s regional president Enrico Rossi said that there were now six crew members and 11 passengers who have not been located out of the 4,200-plus people who were aboard the Costa Concordia when it struck a reef and capsized on Friday night.

Three people have been confirmed dead and three people were rescued more than 24 hours after the disaster: a South Korean honeymooning couple and an Italian member of the ship’s crew, who was hoisted to safety today by helicopter.

The Concordia’s commander has been detained on accusations of manslaughter and abandoning the ship. He has said the reef was not marked.